Robert Schuller tells a story about a banker who always tossed a coin in the cup of a legless beggar who sat on the street outside the bank. But, unlike most people, the banker would always insist on getting one of the pencils the man had beside him.
“You are a merchant,” the banker would say, “and I always expect to receive good value from merchants I do business with.” Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
(This post was the second most viewed by our readers in2013)
I’ve said it before. I hate death. I hate the sorrow it brings. I hate the emptiness it leaves. I hate the relationships it ruptures. I hate the burden it bears.
And Death ever lurks. Looking over our shoulder. Sneering. Leering. Waiting to strike. Leaving its hurt. And about the time we’ve had some healing, death invades our homes and hearts again.
It seems to be happening all too often lately. Last Sunday I received one of the calls. I knew by the voice. The tone. The words that said, “Have you heard…..” This time is was my friend Ted Brewer. Continue reading
Filed under 2013 Top Posts, Death, It's Friday. But Sunday's Coming!
There is a war that is raging! We can deny it. Dismiss it. Or Ignore it. But the war is real. The battles are intense. And the conflicts impact us all.
The war I’m writing about today is not in Afghanistan. Syria. Or Kenya . I’m not discussing current culture wars in America. Nor am I referring to the conflicts between political parties, or the battles between the White House and Congress.
The war that concerns me is more serious than all of those combined. Continue reading
Filed under Christian Living, Devil
Rick Ashley, in his book Sinai Summit , tells the story of an American Jew visiting the land of his parents. He went to visit the famous teacher Rabbi Chaim. When the American entered the home of the Rabbi, he was amazed at the stark living conditions. All that Chaim had was a table, a bench, and a little pallet.
Shocked, the visitor asked, “Rabbi, where is all your furniture.”
Chaim responded to his guest, “Where is all your furniture?” Continue reading
Filed under Stewardship
According to latest statistics, life expectancy for an average human being in the United States is currently at 78.4 years.
What if you compared 78.4 years to a 24 hour day? According to the formula each hour is represented by 3.267 years of life. What time is it in your life? Continue reading
Filed under TIme
The Butterball Turkey Company used to set up a hotline to answer consumer questions about preparing holiday turkeys. One woman called to inquire about cooking a turkey that had been in her freezer for twenty-three years. The operator told her it might be safe if the freezer had been kept below zero degrees the entire time. But the operator warned that, even if it were safe, the flavor had probably deteriorated, and she wouldn’t recommend eating it. Continue reading
Filed under Word of the Week
“I suspect the most consistent thing about life has to be its inconsistency,” wrote Max Lucado in his classic book, “No Wonder They Call Him the Savior.”
“It’s this eerie inconsistency,” observes Max, “that keeps all of us, to one degree or another, living our lives on the edge of our chairs.”
“Yet, it was in this inconsistency that God had his finest hour. Never did the obscene come so close to the holy as it did on Calvary. Never did the good in the world so intertwine with the bad as it did on the cross” Continue reading
Filed under It's Friday. But Sunday's Coming!
There are several memorable lines in the classic movie, Forrest Gump.
There is often quoted, “My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Then the insightful, “My Mama always said you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.
I like Mrs. Gump’s observation, “You have to do the best with what God gave you.”
But then there is a poignant scene between Jenny and Forrest. Continue reading
Billie Burke was a famous actress of the early 20th century. She played “Gilda the good witch” in the Wizard of Oz musical. The story is told that Ms Burke was once traveling on a cruise ship when she noticed a man at the next table suffering from a bad cold.
She asked, “Are you uncomfortable?” The man nodded in the affirmative. “Well,” she instructed, “I’ll tell you what to do. Continue reading
Filed under Authority, Discipleship, Jesus
(During the Holiday season we are reblogging the top 9 post of 2013. Based on the number of “hits” this one came in at #8)
From Pakistan to Egypt. From Kenya to Syria. And all across the Muslim world it has been an “open season on Christians.” Seventy-eight people professing Christianity were slaughtered Sunday by twin suicide bombers at a church in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad.
In a Kenyan shopping mall, a gang of Islamic extremists from Somalia murdered at least 68 workers and shoppers. Reportedly they shouted for “Muslims to get out-of-the-way so they could specifically kill Christians.” Continue reading
Filed under 2013 Top Posts, Christian Living, Discipleship, Faith
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